Norris writes, "However, any new product development initiative within Airbus faces extremely high hurdles. CEO Fabrice Bregier has sent a clear message to management that 'we need to focus on incremental improvement of our products,' rather than going for all-new concepts."

Yet "one senior aerospace executive says he is convinced that 'Airbus will eventually conclude they need a new aircraft family,'" Norris writes.

Read more about the rivalry on IndustryWeek's sister site, Aviation Week.